The Ducks don’t possess a first-round selection in the NHL entry draft for the first time in nearly a decade, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they won’t be heading to the podium or otherwise getting active during Day 1 of the draft Friday.
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Not only has center Mason McTavish been the subject of considerable trade speculation less than a year after inking a six-year, $42 million extension, but the Ducks could potentially swap back into the first round after dealing their pick and a 2027 third-rounder to the Washington Capitals at the trade deadline in exchange for a rental of defenseman John Carlson.
As it stands, their first pick would come in the second round Saturday, 50th overall, though Ducks assistant general manager Martin Madden said that ideally they would like to move up from No. 50 and possibly even back into the first round.
“It’s nice to want to do something. You need a partner to do it,” Madden said via teleconference. “I think opportunities will arise because many teams have (multiple) picks in the top 60, so we think teams will be willing to move around the draft floor and the draft board.”
The Ducks, whom Madden said will continue to eschew need-based drafting, find both conditions to make such a move in place: their own preparedness for a variety of draft slots and a market that has been unusually robust already ahead of the draft itself.
Because the Ducks had such a volatile campaign, one that saw them win seven games in a row twice but also drop nine straight and back their way into the playoffs, Madden and his staff had to scour talent at every tier of this year’s crop.
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“It was one of the weirdest second halves of scouting that we’ve had, for sure. When we met in January, one day we were picking in the middle of the first round and the next day we were picking in the top five,” Madden said. “We got settled into a range that was quite easy to discern what players would be available, and then it changed at the end. The option to keep the pick if we (missed) the playoffs kept us on our toes until the end.”
“It’s rare that you need to be aware of the top 10 group as well as the bottom 10 group,” he added. “It’s rare that you get to trade up in the top 10, but for long stretches of the year, that’s where we were standing, so we needed to know those players. If opportunities come on Friday or Saturday, we will be ready.”
Indeed, two top 10 picks have already changed hands, and one of them has done so twice. The Buffalo Sabres acquired the fourth overall selection from the Chicago Blackhawks as part of a package for defenseman Bowen Byram on Tuesday. Pick No. 9 overall went from Florida to Ottawa in Sunday’s Brady Tkachuk deal and then was flipped to San Jose for a haul headlined by William Eklund on Tuesday.
“The free-agent pool this year is not deep. You’ve got many teams who are ready to be competitive and want to be competitive quickly. You’ve got an upward surge in contract values putting pressure on other teams to make decisions earlier than before,” Madden said. “I am surprised that top 10 picks are involved because the top 15 of this draft is quite strong, but I think those were the main factors that led to what we’ve seen over the past few days. It’s quite exciting.”
NHL DRAFT
When: First round (4 p.m. Friday, ESPN); second to seventh round (8 a.m. Saturday, NHL Network)
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Where: KeyBank Center, Buffalo